I had hoped to get back to Canada sometime in the last year. I wanted to bring my family to Montreal and to some natural areas in Quebec and Ontario — maybe even visit the Maritimes for the first time. We got our son his first passport in preparation.
Oh well. I know that our continent and world have suffered much worse than I have in the last year. Canada will be there for us some other summer. No biggie.
AdkAction is pleased to announce the winning video of its statewide COVID-19 Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest: “A Vintage COVID-19 PSA,” created by Emily Kucharczyk of New Paltz High School.
“When I heard about the project from my teacher, I had a vision of the shot where I held up a bottle of cleaning spray, I just saw the vintage theme in my head and went with it,” Emily said. “I love the creative freedom that comes with making movies — it’s one of the best ways to express your art.”
Watch it here:
Seeking some historical perspective on the current pandemic, Historic Saranac Lake recently hosted an imaginary panel discussion at St. John’s in the Wilderness Cemetery. Three generations of Doctors Trudeau shared their thoughts on change and continuity in science and public health.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
DOCTOR 1: Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau (1848-1915) Leader of the sanatorium movement in the U.S., founder of the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium and the Saranac Laboratory. (Pictured, left, in the Saranac Laboratory. HSL Collection.)
DOCTOR 2: Dr. Francis Berger Trudeau (1887-1956) Saranac Lake physician and leader of the sanatorium after his father’s death. (Pictured, center. Courtesy of the Saranac Free Library)
DOCTOR 3: Dr. Frank B. Trudeau (1919-1995) Prominent local physician and founder of the Trudeau Institute. (Pictured, right, opening the doors of the Trudeau Institute for the first time. HSL Collection.)
New York State has begun the process of opening up COVID-19 vaccination centers over many parts of the state. ECOs, Forest Rangers, and other DEC experts are on the front lines assisting federal, state, local and non-government entities build and support vaccination sites at multiple locations, filling various key positions in the incident command structure up to the highest level of incident commander and working closely with other DEC staff and partners in this important mission.
SUNY Albany
New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Center: On Jan. 9, two Forest Rangers were deployed to assist the State’s efforts to stand up a mass vaccination site at the SUNY Albany Campus. Forest Rangers fill critical roles in the Incident Command System (ICS) structure that are crucial in the success of the mission, including serving as Operation and Planning Section Chiefs. On Jan. 15, the mass vaccination site was established, capable of handling more than 1,000 patients a day. At this site and others across the state, Rangers are joined by other DEC staff from more than a dozen divisions, as well as representatives from multiple state agencies.
Operation Back Road – Statewide
DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement released the results of “Operation Back Road,” a recent statewide detail targeting illegal hunting from roads. During the 2020 hunting season, ECOs used technology, local intelligence, and 147 robotic decoy deer over 300 hours to catch poachers hunting from vehicles or along roadways, putting communities in danger. During the detail, ECOs apprehended 19 suspects for shooting at the decoys from roadways and issued tickets for 37 misdemeanors, 29 additional violations of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), and seven charges outside the ECL. Officers conducted the Operation Back Road detail during the last two weeks of the Northern Zone and last three weeks of the Southern Zone hunting seasons. During the 2020 fall hunting season, ECOs statewide issued more than 244 tickets for road hunting-related offenses.
Forest Ranger Gullen at the SUNY Albany Mass Vaccination Site/DEC photo
On Saturday, January 16, the Long Lake 19th Annual Winter Carnival saw major changes to the line-up and was able to host a modified version renamed Winter Carnival “Lite.”
The only coordinated event was the Cardboard Sled Races which were held with Covid-19 protocols in place. All participants and spectators had to register in advance for a maximum of 50 and there was no on-site registration. Everyone wore masks and kept a minimum of six feet between racers and families.
By a 55-31 percent margin, New Yorkers say the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come. Seven percent of New Yorkers say they have already been vaccinated and among those who have not, 69 percent say they plan to get vaccinated and 27 percent say they do not, according to a new Siena College Poll of New York State voters released today.
Fifty-four percent of voters say the incoming Biden Administration will have a positive impact on New York, compared to 23 percent who say it will have a negative impact and 16 percent who say it will have no real impact.
The Lake Placid Center for the Arts has announced the winners of their Zoom Play Festival. The contest was held in late August for theatre artists to create and share a play over Zoom. LPCA plans to present a showcase of the winning pieces, as well as the honorable mentions on February 19.
Collaboration with Directors and Theatres has begun in order to produce the works, with LPCA having plans to produce several of the plays they received in-house. They received over 135 short plays that were submitted from all over the world, from New Zealand to Canada. The great number of submissions required help from several playwrights and artists around the country to help evaluate the plays, which were scored in areas like plot development, character voice, and adherence to the submission criteria.
In order to help support small business during the COVID-19 pandemic, up to $3,000,000 in reimbursement grants at $5,000 per business is being offered to eligible applicants. This program, lead by “Raising the NYS Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund” was created in support of full-service restaurants, arguably the industry hit the hardest by the pandemic, during the winter months where temperature and weather prevents outdoor dining.
To qualify for the program, an establishment must:
By Audrey Schwartzberg, Communications Associate, Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA)
The 2020 holiday season will most certainly look and feel different.
These are stressful times for many of us: financially, emotionally, mentally.
AdkAction is currently accepting submissions to their “Spread the Word, Not the Virus” COVID-19 Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest, open to all New York State middle and high school students. The winner will receive a prize of $1,000 and have their PSA broadcast on television, as well as at the Beyond the Peaks Student Film Festival on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Each PSA Submitted should be between 30 and 45 seconds in length, and should include the slogan “Spread the word, not the Virus.” The PSA must also contain logos, as specified within the directions, and address a broad range of audiences. Deadline for submission is midnight on Friday, January 15, 2021. Participation in the contest is free.
Students must upload video submissions online through the digital film contest platform “Launchpad”, which was donated by Skills21 at EdAdvance, and Educational Nonprofit based out of Connecticut. The submissions will then be evaluated by teachers, nonprofit leaders and health department staff. The judges will be searching for originality, inventiveness, and the invocation of emotion within the PSA. The scoring rubric, as well as more information and a detailed video tutorial on how to submit your PSA are located here on AdkAction website.
Throughout the winter weekends on Friday and Saturday evenings, the Wild Center is hosting Wild Lights, presented by Merrill L. Thomas, Inc., a dazzling display that transforms the campus into a winter wonderland. he Wild Center, which will remain open throughout the winter season, will also offer familiar activities, such as Winter Wild Walk and snowshoeing, as well as new ones like kicksledding and the outdoor winter otter play yard.
Over the past year, The Pendragon Theatre has done its best to adapt to circumstance in providing a large array of virtual and physical content like The Pendragon Play, acting and playwriting classes for adults and children, the Young Playwrights Festival, a veterans improvisation PTSD therapy program with St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation Center, puppet workshops, a partnership with Adirondack Experience (ADKX) the Winter Carnival show – Life, Love & Legends, and work on their new building project on Woodruff street. However, with the quarantine in place and with the lack of a live audience, there is only so much a theatre can do.
Some years ski season is in full swing by late November. That isn’t the case this year, but that hasn’t kept me from considering where I’ll be headed during the upcoming ski season. And I’m wondering where everyone else will be headed.
School leaders in Franklin County have decided to bring students back into school buildings early after seeing progress in COVID-19 protocols throughout the county.
Schools will start bringing students back Monday, Dec. 7. Most will use a phased approach that will continue through Dec. 10.
Franklin County’s school districts shifted to fully remote learning in November, when officials from Franklin County Public Health asked school district superintendents in the county to help them slow the spread of COVID-19 cases. At the time, schools weren’t ready to meet the state testing requirements if the region were to be designated a yellow zone, and public health staff were too busy with contact tracing and other efforts to slow the virus spread to help. School leaders initially said the pause of in-person learning would last through Jan. 4.
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Standing In The Storm
This storm is culminated by circumstances that test our strength, devour our peace and steal our joy. The truth is there may have been many storms in your life, not just in the past year but sporadically throughout your life. Like weather storms, life storms can come in slowly and leave quickly or roll in quickly and linger for some time. No matter the substance, life storms can feel personally aimed and centered on us. It can be lonely when the darkness creeps in and there seems to be no shelter.
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